Vodo barely glanced at the holocron, showing no outward interest in it whatsoever. He knew Esias's type well, and their livelihood was negotiation. Vodo did not want to seem too interested.

But he was. Oh yes he was.

Ever since he was born and given to an orphanage on Coruscant, some seventy years before, he had been on an quest to discover the secrets of who he was. He did know that he had had an ancestor, who was one of the most famous and legendary Jedi Masters in galactic history, but it was presumed that all of Siosk Baas's holocrons had been lost.

But Vodo was extremely hesitant to train anyone outside of the Jedi Order. It was against the Jedi Code.

But I have an oppertunity...


His yellow eyes flicked down to the holocron, and then back up to Esias.

"This is against my Order's beliefs. I am a Jedi Master. It would go against all the rules to train you."

Tir Esias forced his mouth into a smile. It had taken some time for him to master the facial gesture, but he was at a point where the movement seemed almost natural to others. It was coming to a point where it almost felt natural when he made his muscles twitch in the correct sequence to cause his smile.

"I would never force you to do something against the sacred code of the Jedi."

Tir's voice barely changed from its previous incarnation, but there was a discernable, if very, very faint tone of glee in his voice. Though Vodo might not have noticed it, Tir Esias heard it inside his head. He took a half-second to clear his mind of all emotion, unknowingly using a tactic utilized by Jedi for thousands of years.

"If your beliefs prevent you from training me, then I doubt there is anything I can do to persuade you otherwise. But..."

He snatched the holocron from the table.

"I have named my price. This offer is non-negotiable."

Vodo chuckled.

"Everything's negotiable. I thought you would have already figured that out." The Jedi Master said.

Vodo quickly considered his options. He could train this man and get the holocron, which was possibly the most valuble treasure he could find in quite some time. Or he could go back to Naboo empty handed.

There was only one real choice that he could take.

"What do you want to know?" He asked with a sigh.

"The question, Master Jedi, is not what I want to know, but rather what can you teach me."

He raised his cane up, sliding one hand down the length of it.

"To many, the force is a tool. It is nothing more than my cane, an instrument to be used to achieve a task. Many people use the force and do not realize it... they draw upon it almost subconsciously."

He pointed the cane at Vodo.

"The Jedi, at least in my understand, see the force as more than a simple tool. I do not pretend to understand the religious complexities of your order, but I understand the basis on which you call upon the force."

He returned the cane to his side.

"For me, the force is something much different. My understanding of the force is not nearly as great as... even the padawans whom you so diligently mentor on Naboo. But..."

Tir Esias tossed his cane toward the ceiling of the room.

"The force to me is like your sight, you hearing.... it is another sense that I utilize so often that I do so unconsciously. While I don't doubt that your mastery of the force far surpasses mine..."

Tir Esias let the power of the force flow through him unchecked, lowering any inhibitations to hide his power. He gathered the mystical energy and it flowed through him; a surge of force power that might have overshadowed even Vodo's signature by virtue of its unchecked enormity.

His hand shot out, and Tir Esias caught his cane at arm level.

"Master Jedi, I have no prejudice when it comes to the Force. I am not persuaded by those who insist that you must use either light or dark..... or even by those who say that you may walk in a gray area between the two.

To me, the Force is the Force. I have relied upon it my whole life. If I could not touch it.... I would be truly blind.

I know the power of the Force. I do not however, have the control, the refinement, the mastery to manipulate it that you do. That is what I seek."

He paused, releasing his pent up power like an exhale. His shoulders slumped, and he seemed suddenly fatigued. He leaned on his cane in a manner much more pronounced than he had since Vodo had arrived.

"I do not presume to know what I must learn. You are the master... train me as you wish. Treat me as a padawan, or not, it doesn't matter."

Tir took a deep breath and straightened up.

"We can begin whenever you wish. Or if you need time to prepare, then I will lead you to your quarters."



OOC- I will be gone tomorrow, but back by Sunday. Feel free to post in my absence.

Vodo watched the display without emotion. If Esias could have seen him, he would have seen a slumped, short little figure leaning on a small peice of wood. Not the powerful Jedi Master he was speaking about.

Vodo's eyes were nothing but half-slits. And for a moment, just for a moment, his yellow eyes gleamed like that of a dragon's.

After several minutes of profound silence, Vodo spoke, "You use the Force as if it is a tool. It is not."

He guestured casually and three nearby chairs suddenly lifted themselves up into the air, as if carried by some invisible string. And without so much as a twitch, Vodo sent the chairs slamming into the ground so hard it created a thunderous sound, sending wooden splinters in all directions.

"The Force is a gift, Mr. Esias. The Force is something that is not to be used by you, but to be used through you."

Vodo turned away from the blind man and to the nearby guards, who stood vigilantly by the door. Vodo again guestured and a chair again rose from it's place. With a thought, Vodo sent it hurtling at one of the guards, smashing into him and sending the hapless man flying.

As if by reflex, the other guard snapped his weapon up and fired three quick bursts at Vodo. As if from nowhere, a lightsaber sprung to the Jedi Master's hand. The blade twisted in his hand involuntarily and deflected all the bolts, sending them to the far corners of the room.

The guard stood motionless and Vodo put his saber away and turned back to Esias.

"Through you."

Little did Vodo know, the guards with whom he had interacted were not merely mercenaries employed by the Union, like the snipers whom had been stationed in the hangar bay. No they were much different.

Which quickly became evident when the guard who had been sent flying across the room stood up. One of his arms was bent at an unnatural angle, but rather than cradling it with his uninjured appendage, he retrieved his rifle and walked back to the door, holding it across his body. The other guard had meanwhile returned to a similar rigid position.

Tir Esias muttered something under his breath, something soundly distinctly like "..first generation.." Still, his thoughts shifted quickly, as Vodo said

Through you.

The Jedi master had misread him. The realization surprised Tir, though his face did not show it, as he had never developed the complex muscle movements that denoted a surprised facial expression (nor did he ever want to). Vodo thought he viewed the force as a tool- which couldn't be farther from the truth. He saw the Force no less a tool than Vodo did his sense of hearing, or sight. Of course, his constant reliance upon it for everyday life meant that he did not see the Force with the same reverence that it seemed Vodo did. His sense of reality was distorted, as unlike most force users, who discovered there latent powers with a sense of awe, he had been utilizing the Force since childhood out of necessity.

Vodo's outburst however had served a useful purpose. Tir had been able to feel the Jedi manipulate the Force, and what he had felt had startled him. Vodo had used only cursory amounts of effort to pick up the chairs and smash them together. It had taken only a glimmer of power to target the necrotrooper at the doorway and send him flying.

Tir had then tested Vodo by forcing the other guard to open fire on him. The deflections had caused Vodo to increase his concentration, but had in no way strained him. Tir Esias had expected a sudden wave of overwhelming force employed by the Jedi, who was considered one of the strongest of his Order on Naboo.

Instead he had discovered that Vodo's ability to call upon the force was refined enough that his movements required almost no effort at all.

"Master Jedi... I would never denigrate the Force by considering it a mere tool."

He thought for a moment, trying to determine exactly what he wanted to say.

"What I seek, Master Jedi, is to control the Force as you do. I can summon great power.... but I cannot control it. Make it seem effortless. I waste so much energy when I use the force. I strain my limits far too easily. Teach me control. That is what I seek."

Vodo scoffed, "Control."


He took a few steps around the table toward Esias, "You seek to control the Force."

He made a rude noise.

"Did you not listen to me? Did you not notice the difference in useage of the Force just now? Must I demonstrate again?"

He raised a hand again and two more chairs lifted themselves into the air. And again, like before, he sent them crashing down, making another great noise.

"That, "He said darkly, "Is controling the Force."

He turned to the guards again, "Shoot me." He said. The guards hesitated, but lifted their rifles at a nod from Esias. Both fired several shots at the Jedi Master, who again blocked them easily.

"And that is allowing the Force to control you. You must understand this concept before you can learn what you desire to learn."

Tir Esias nodded.

Vodo's words made sense. The subtle differences in how the Force had flowed through Vodo as he performed the two different tasks opened a whole new world to him.

"I think I understand, Master Jedi."

Tir Esias opened his mind, and felt the dull existence of the uninjured necrotrooper. He ordered the soldier to open fire on him, though he made sure that the... guard... would fire of his own initiative, allowing Tir Esias to try and follow the Jedi Master's example.

He severed his connection to the guard. He let the force flow through him, waiting tentatively. He felt a flicker in the force...

And felt a burning sensation as a blaster bolt caught him squarely in the shoulder.

Tir Esias nearly toppled over, but caught himself on his cane.

He reached out with his mind and re-established a link with the guard to prevent him from continuing his assault. The guard jerked back to the rigid guard stance.

"Perhaps... I need some... more practice."

Vodo chuckled, "I forgot to add that you might need a lightsaber first."

He moved away from Esias and stood a few meters apart from him.

"Work on the first part first. Pick up a chair. But observe how I use the Force as I do."

Vodo reached out to the Force and let it flow into him, invigorating him and giving him the power he needed to pick up yet another chair, "Concentration is required to focus the Force and bend it to your will. Envision the chair rising in your own mind."

I forgot to add that you might need a lightsaber first

Tir Esias had been planning to dodge the shot, but as the smoldering wound in his shoulder clearly showed he hadn't done a very good job of it. The lightsaber bit hadn't even crossed his mind. Tir Esias supressed the pain of the shoulder into a dim tingle and listened for Vodo's voice.

"Work on the first part first. Pick up a chair. But observe how I use the Force as I do.

Tir Esias was confident that he need not observe Vodo performing this task. His ability to manipulate other objects... to utilize the force to manipulate objects was fairly developed, from a lifetime's use. Nevertheless he reached out with the force and let his power brush against Vodo, waiting.

He felt Vodo summon the Force to him, though he gathered much less of the mystic energy than Tir Esias would have expected.

Concentration is required to focus the Force and bend it to your will. Envision the chair rising in your own mind.

Tir Esias knew the general layout of the room, but with the recent commotion distorting the familiarity, it took him a moment to locate a chair with his mind. He severed his touch with the necrotroopers, to allow him the full breadth of his power, and tried to mimic Vodo's summons of the Force. But then he hit a roadblock.

Vodo had said envision the chair rising in his mind. With any other pupil, this would have been of no consequence. But to a man who had been blind for his entire life, it was not that simple.

Tir Esias had been vicitim of a degenartive disease that had robbed him of his sight as a young infant. He had been able to see at birth, and thus, although he had no memories of sight, he could sometimes see during dreams. The sensations of sight were always confusing... since he was unaccustommed to them. Unlike the Miraluka, he did not "see" persay through the Force, though sometimes he conjured up "visual" images in his mind, usually when mapping out locations he was unfamiliar with.

In any event, he did not know how to comply with Vodo's request.

"Master Jedi... there is a minor problem."